A Balanced Approach to Wellness!

Posts tagged ‘attention deficits’

School is starting again and many families will be urged, or will insist on, using drugs to help their children sit still in class. The problem is not the children; the problem is the framework. People have different ways of learning and different interests, and school curricula, in general, ignore these facts. Here is a blog post from last year that discusses the problems with forcing people to sit still.

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From “Attention deficits are societal deficits” dated Feb. 4, 2014:

So many interventions are being forced on people these days for attention deficit issues. Symptoms are being treated, but not the causes. The next few posts on my blog will deal with the causes of attention deficit. If you find this outlook interesting, please forward the posts to other like-minded people.

We’ll start with a quote from Oneself—Living:

“Modern living requires focus on activities that can be dull, rote, repetitive, and constraining. Modern schools, work places, institutions, and organizations require participation in dull, rote, repetitive, and constraining tasks and situations. People were designed for tasks and situations that are ever-changing. Tasks that demand constant focus and lengthy concentration tax the natural nature of humans. Distractions, tempest, whirl, and hurly-burly—those are the situations people respond to…

People—are—designed—for—doing some of this, doing some of that, moving here, then moving there, short bouts of focus, studied execution of required tasks and chosen pursuits—and then sleep to recharge, repair, and function. People cannot hear and digest information delivered perfunctorily nor handle verbal assault nor accept displays of unimaginative and unmeant praise nor decipher dull and sterilized writing nor participate in uninspired presentations nor stay still for too long nor perform religious requirements without proper guidance and inspiration. Doing these things result in attention distraction, anger or enhanced criticism, dulled emotions and responses, and opposition against more than the cause of the opposition…

The creation of societies that reward unnatural behaviors and occupations and punish normal human behavior punish themselves. People force and repress and mold themselves to function within the constraints of the modern societies. They think they are superior when they manage to overcome their natural inclinations for movement and physical expression. People do manage to adjust to their polygonal existences, but their bodies and spirits bear the brunt of the altered requirements…

Assuming that a person has a deficit because he or she cannot stay still or cannot focus on a dull and uninspiring topic reflects badly on society. There are people born with deficits or who acquire deficits through accident or illness, but perceived deficits of people who are unable to force themselves to live within uncompromising regulations are not deficits—they are expressions of frustration or unreleased energy or laziness or despair.”

People who have been categorized as ADD or ADHD or sort of ADD or ADHD or on the verge of ADD or ADHD or growing into ADD or ADHD are in need of balancing:

Balancing of physical needs: proper food and water intake, proper sleep, sufficient movement each day, and relaxation of the eyes

Balancing of emotional needs

Balancing of intellectual needs

Balancing of caregivers’ needs

Handling attention deficit designations can cause much work on the part of caregivers (parents and guardians). Caregivers must be aware that their actions towards the A-D designee influence the A-D exhibition. The more balanced the A-D designee, the less symptoms exhibited.

Ways to balance A-D-afflicted people

Drink a glass of water upon rising each morning.

Eat a proper breakfast before school or work (most breakfast cereals, chocolate milk, and quick snacky foods do not count as proper breakfast foods).

Take frequent breaks from TV watching, from lengthy computer and mobile device work and play, and from prolonged viewing of oneself in mirrors.

Take part in activities that better other people, the environment, and animals.

Take part in housecleaning, home plant care, outdoor home care, etc. Each person should share in these tasks.

Observe nature every day, even if there is only a single plant near one’s home. The more nature is observed, the more developed a person’s observation and focus skills.

Challenge oneself through reading, puzzles, riddles, learning to play a musical instrument, learning to enjoy something that originally appeared to be boring.

Overcoming the stigma of being A-D afflicted

People who have been classified or sort-of classified as ADD or ADHD should not lower their expectations of themselves. They should see themselves as normal people who need to attend to their body’s conversation. If the body is signaling that it has been sitting too long, it probably has—time to move. They should aim for living in balance and in harmony with their environment.

Changes for all

Everyone who lives in the hustle-bustle of today’s society needs to add more moments of nature into their lives. More deep breathing, more sleep. Better awareness of food intake (less processed stuff) and of physical activity. More focus on building connections with other people and with the society.

Please share this information with people who question the status quo of dealing with attention deficit issues.

Babies who are born healthy have the ability to observe and learn as they grow. Once they are socialized, their abilities to observe and learn have been set. Not set in stone, set in motion. The type of motion is the determining factor in learning inability. If the motion is too indulgent, pressured or inconsistent, then negative opinions of self and one’s abilities to focus and absorb are formed. If the motion is accepting, engendering of feelings of responsibility and consistent, then abilities are appreciated and worked. In either case, the ability to learn is there, but the perception of it is altered—positively or negatively.

Of the negative forces, indulgence has become a determining manipulator of people’s ability to work diligently, attempt new tasks and manage disagreeable ones, practice, and maintain a supportive attitude. Indulgence does not require wealth; it requires a caregiver who does not accept that sadness, difficulty, and frustration are normal parts of development. Indulgence leads to requiring immediate gratification and/or feelings of lack. When “attention deficit” is suspected, indulgence must be examined. It is reversible!

Of the positive forces, engendering feelings of responsibility is very important. Children must feel that their contributions are needed. Each small task that a child does in his or her home builds confidence and focus. People want to feel necessary and challenged—these are design features!

More to come…Please share this information with people who question the status quo of dealing with attention deficit issues.

Maintaining attention when distracted, unable to decide, inadequately nourished, lacking in water, sleep deprived, needing to move, low in confident-ness (not knowing one’s gifts), the material or task is not clearly needed, the material or task seems overwhelming, or the material or task requires additional explanation—all these pressures tax the body’s ability to handle concentration.

Above all, expecting to succeed without working at goals, without applying oneself, without failing is expectation folly. Each person has certain gifts (many, many more than they usually think), but not enough to have success at all endeavors. Living in today’s world requires investing time and effort into learning many things that aren’t interesting and aren’t easily internalized. Success comes from diligence, repeated attempts, practice, and attitude that is accepting and uplifting.

More to come…Please share this information with people who question the status quo of dealing with attention deficit issues.

These instructions are for people who have been labeled with ADD or ADHD. The labeling applies to very few people, and even then, the labeling is inaccurate. The overuse of these labels is destructive. For people and for society. An epidemic is occurring in which perfectly normal people are turning into people with deficiencies, and who then must be treated. Perfectly normal includes people who have trouble sitting still. Perfectly normal includes people who must take breaks when doing prolonged activities that bore them. Perfectly normal includes people whose conversations jump from topic to topic-tangential conversations are normal. This list of perfectly normal can go on and on. Perfectly normal covers most “imperfections” in people.

Problems caused by genetic or birth defects (such as defects that result from alcohol or drug use by pregnant women), accidents, diseases, and such are different. The resulting people are different and require special attention—usually more exposure to nature and kindness.

Everyone struggles with something. That is the nature of existing.

More to come…Please share this information with people who question the status quo of dealing with attention deficit issues.

Maintaining concentration is made difficult when pressure is felt or goals are not concrete and personally important. When a person is easily distracted (which is most people), small or seemingly important distractions can completely upstage the true goals. On top of that, if a person is a “deficit in attention” labeled person, he or she may accept the easily distractedness as a personality trait rather than work at maintaining concentration.

All people are designed to be distracted; it is a survival technique. People are also designed to concentrate in short segments of time. Prolonged concentration is not to be expected without a price in imbalance in the body. Also, making excuses for lack of ability to concentrate for prolonged periods of time is wasted effort. Of course most people can’t do that; it’s not part of the design.

Rather than label children (or adults) because they can’t sit still or focus on personally unimportant information, parents and caregivers (including teachers) should consider issues such as nutrition, home dynamics, sleep disturbances, lack of sufficient physical movement, interests of the child, intellectual challenges (or lack of), stimulation from too much exposure to technology, lack of stimulation from natural elements (nature, animals, and the seasons), and invisibility (the child feels that he or she is not really seen for who he/she is). All these influences come into play when maintaining concentration is too easily broken.

More to come…Please share this information with people who question the status quo of dealing with attention deficit issues.

Applications
Social network games
Internet sensations
These things
Too much focus
From.
Distraction!

Distraction
From
Too much focus
These things:
Internet sensations
Social network games
Applications

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“The influences of nature were once the major influences on people. Some people and cultures run their lives around the cycles of nature, but the number of people who are nature-centric lessens with developments in technology. The ways in which people are affected and driven by nature are many. Being cut off from nature contributes to lowered attentiveness which in turn decreases attention capabilities. The connection to flora and fauna significantly 1) broadens and heightens understanding of cycles and fluctuations; 2) develops appreciative and inquisitive capabilities; and 3) causes people to examine and work with vegetation that aid human life and animals that enhance human existence. When people allowed fluctuations of time, season, and life to govern their lives, they developed more attentive skills.” from the chapter “What is Attention Capability?” in Oneself—Living (soon to be published).

Without a constant connection to nature, the ability to concentrate for extended periods of time is lessened and unappreciated, the ability to focus is shortened, and the ability to be resourceful is lessened. Not for everyone, but for most.

The lessening and shortening of concentration, focus and resourcefulness have led to wide-scale lack-of-attention problems. Occasionally, the problems have additional contributors such as genetic or hereditary deficits or human-inflicted causes (abuse or improper treatment). Lack-of-attention problems have become big business, and the causes are being overlooked, while the symptoms are being treated or over-treated.

The best way to reverse attention lack-of is to rediscover nature!

More walks in green areas!

More visits to parks and nature areas!

More visits to petting zoos and to farms that allow the animals to be touched!

More fruit picking and visits to farmers’ markets!

More plants and flowers inside the home and more attention to landscaping outside the home!

More observation of roadside scenery, of the sky and of the landscape around us!

More visits to water: beaches, lakes, rivers and springs!

More visits to botanical gardens and other city gardens!

More participation in community gardens and garden clubs!

More making of mud pies and castles in the sand!

More walking barefoot in the grass!

More playing of instruments! (Oops-this hint belongs in another post, but it applies here too 🙂